Academic writing in Spanish

Language

Spanish

Prerequisites

The student has achieved a B2 level in Spanish.

Main themes

The aim of this course is to train students to write a scientific or academic text in Spanish. It covers the communicative, lexical, grammatical and editorial content specific to reference levels B1.1 and B2, as well as the writing techniques for academic writing in Spanish.  The course also teaches students how to problematise literary, historical and scientific texts, as well as written argumentation.  At the end of a three-year journey, this course aims to consolidate written expression in Spanish.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Collect and select relevant information using rigorous and systematic methods
2	Synthesise essential elements of knowledge in order to problematise a research question
3	Synthesise essential elements of knowledge in order to problematise a research question
4	Produce a scientific text that respects the standards of the discipline and of academic discourse
5	Reflect on his/her knowledge, methods and productions
6	Read and understand specialised texts in several languages
7	Oral and written command of one or more foreign languages, so as to be able to produce a discourse at an academic level and to be able to adapt one's language productions to the context and to the interlocutors

Content

By reading articles, extracts from books (all genres) or comments on texts in the original language, students are invited to identify the language conventions, lexicon and structure of a scientific text in Spanish. Students are then encouraged to produce a text themselves that respects the codes, register, lexical richness and structure of a scientific text in Spanish. They will also work on problematisation and argumentation in Spanish and with case studies from the Spanish-speaking world. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand complex texts in Spanish, to identify implicit and explicit theses, and to analyse, interpret and comment them using the appropriate vocabulary and academic structure.

Teaching methods

The course alternates readings and analyses of academic texts with practical writing exercises. The themes may vary from year to year to suit students' interests and/or to reflect current social issues.  
This unit comprises 15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of practical work. 

Evaluation methods

The student will be assessed in both the UE and the “practical work”.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL